Deep flaws in Massachusetts laws constructed to keep government honest have sustained a recurring parade of criminal and ethical misconduct charges involving public servants in the past five years, a study by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting shows.

Massachusetts earned a “C” grade earlier this year in a national State Integrity scorecard released by the Center for Public Integrity. Among its lowest scores were an “F” for the transparency of the state budget process and public access to information, a “D+” for legislative accountability and a “C-” for the effectiveness of the state Ethics Commission. Judicial accountability earned a “C+ in Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has issued a ruling that sets an important standard on how judges are judged.

The high court says that while holding judges accountable is essential, judges have certain protections. Specifically the court says judges do not have to disclose to investigators what they were thinking when they made a ruling, and that the notes a judge makes while on the bench are for the judge only.

Gov. Deval Patrick is at the center of a fight over government parking records.

Patrick has refused to release the records to the Boston Herald, citing security and privacy concerns. The newspaper alleges it's part of a pattern of secrecy in Patrick's office. The governor's office says he and his administration, "are extremely accessible to the public and the press on a regular basis."

Early last month, lawmakers in Iowa completed work on a new open records statute. Senate File 430 creates the Iowa Public Information Board, a nine-member commission charged with enforcing the state’s open records and meetings laws.

For good government advocates in the Hawkeye State, the new legislation was cause for celebration — sort of.

Indeed, there were smiles all around as Gov. Terry Branstad signed the law on May 3 in the ornate Capitol Building, surrounded by lawmakers and journalists — many of whom spent six years on the effort. And the law is undoubtedly a victory of sorts for open government in the state, where enforcement was spotty at best, divided among several local and state entities. If a citizen’s request for information was denied, the only option was to sue — a time-consuming and costly course of action. Now, the Board can investigate complaints and bring them to court on citizens’ behalf.

Through a nonprofit established by his administration last year called Moving Massachusetts Forward, the Patrick administration collected $130,000 from five donors, according to ethics disclosure forms filed by the governor. Unlike campaign donations, contributions to the group have no limits and are tax-free.

Critics say that while donations to Patrick’s nonprofit are legal and were publicly disclosed, the state would be better off paying the full expense of the trade missions to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Community college administrators who are diverting student fees to pay a high-priced Beacon Hill lobbyist to fight reforms aren’t just misusing public education dollars — they’re breaking the law, a top Patrick administration official argued yesterday.

Gov. Deval Patrick signed a law banning state agencies and authorities from hiring outside lobbyists in 2010. The Herald reported yesterday that the Massachusetts Community College Trustees’ Association, a shadowy consortium of higher-ed honchos, paid lobbyist Michael J. Muse $51,480 last year, using money from student fees as well as textbook and food revenues.

On Monday, Attorney General Martha Coakley called for an amendment to the state's open meeting law. The need for change comes as no surprise to those who have followed the State Integrity Investigation, a nationwide look at corruption risk.

"The amendment would clarify the standard for a finding by the AG of an intentional violation of the Open Meeting Law," Coakley said in a statement.

The Massachusetts House of Representatives approved a $32.4 billion budget at midnight on Wednesday. Late-night sessions and closed-door caucuses are just part of a process that one nonprofit organization thinks lacks transparency.

Monday’s indictment of former state Treasurer Timothy Cahill is just one in a series of recent corruption scandals in Massachusetts.

Last month, a federal indictment named former Massachusetts Probation Commissioner John O’Brien and two of his top aides. Before that, the state’s last three House speakers, before current Speaker Robert DeLeo, were all convicted.

All of which begs the question: How much of a problem is corruption in Massachusetts?

Former Massachusetts state treasurer Timothy Cahill was indicted Monday on public corruption and fraud charges stemming from his 2010 campaign for governor. Attorney General Martha Coakley said Cahill used publicly funded lottery ads to advance his candidacy.